Insulated wall panels provide thermal insulation for homes and buildings. A wall panel's R-value reflects its ability to impede heat flow. The greater the ability to impede heat flow, the higher the R-value. Over the years, insulation standards have become stricter, requiring higher R-values and continuous insulation on the exterior side of insulated wall panels. The current market solutions to these stricter requirements are typically (1) pre-fabricated wall panels that incorporate insulation at the construction site, and (2) Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs).
The pre-fabricated wall panel that incorporates insulation at the construction site has been the more widely adopted solution. However, pre-fabricated walls that incorporate insulation at the construction site require a separate sub-contractor for on-site installation with fiberglass batting, which is known to have suboptimal R-values. Fiberglass is not an air barrier and allows for air intrusion, thus increasing the probability of condensation and mold growth within wall systems. Furthermore, additional material is necessary to finish the wall (e.g., Oriented Strand Panels (OSBs) and house wrap) and the overall construction process duration is extended, thereby increasing the risk of trade scheduling conflicts. Installing insulation onsite also leads to potential inconsistencies in insulation installation, performance, and usage.
The second solution, SIPs, also have several drawbacks. SIPs typically utilize expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam insulation sandwiched between two OSB panels, which only provide thermal performance of about R-4 per inch. Additionally, current SIPs are mainly used by smaller scale home builders with high levels of home customization.
More recently, pre-fabricated insulated wall structures satisfying the strict industry insulation requirements that can be made without excessive material and labor costs have been proposed. Such foam wall structures can include a polyiso panel attached to at least a portion of a front frame surface, such that the polyiso panel and frame members define one or more voids within the frame; and a foam layer received within at least a portion of one of the voids within the frame, wherein the foam layer adheres to at least a portion of the polyiso panel.
Because of the many benefits that can be provided by such pre-fabricated insulated wall structures, it would be desirable to provide efficient, commercially viable production processes and equipment for their manufacture that, among other things, is compact and lends itself to practical retrofitting of existing pre-fabricated wall manufacturing facilities.
The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing desire.